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SharpesTriumph said:
Calabro is much more polished, professional, than Mike Barrett or a half dozen of the prior play by play guys.

He also was a sonic and national guy, I think many fans liked the homer Mike and Mike style back to Schonley that lived rip city.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if next season Calabrao was doing Amazon prime games or something. Shows he's skilled - but also not really a Blazer.

The color guy the Blazers have doesn't contribute much, can't even remember his name.
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I loved The Snapper. He was a national guy as well.
 
riverman said:
Pretty hastily put together nuthin' burger of an interview. Not one bit of new or interesting information and Calabro was in complete "fluff softball" mode. It's like he could have easily been selling new cruise packages or lottery tickets.
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Curious what questions you would ask a person that has complete control of you lively hood?
 
Phatguysrule said:
Don't know why. He just comes off as insincere and fake. Phoney.

Not my cup of tea.
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Not true FAMS. Really a genuine down to earth guy. Treats every member of the crew as buddies. Very personable. I was against the Mikes being let go and it took me some time, but as far as a person behind the scenes…..couldn’t be a cooler guy.
 
THE HCP said:
Curious what questions you would ask a person that has complete control of you lively hood?
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Yeah, Joe obviously wanted to say the stuff he said. I didn't mind any of it. Calabro definitely isn't Roy Firestone and Joe didn't want him to be. I think loving this interview is a little weird but I think hating it is a lot weirder.

Edit: Also a "lively hood" is like a block party but someone's living is a their livelihood... not that you or anyone else gives a shit.
 
inconceivable said:
I played video in the background, did not hear any simons extension. Granted, I was not tuned in. Something like that would be reported elsewhere. Also, would be dumb to to such thing
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Dude. The poster was joking.

THE HCP said:
Curious what questions you would ask a person that has complete control of you lively hood?
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Yes, Calabro is an employee of the guy he interviewed. Expect questions like Casey Holdahl or Brooke WhatsHerName would ask. This isn't Quick or Canzano, trying to make a name for themselves as Jesse James.

But good catch, Blazer Kor, about the lively hood.
First time I ever wrote your name, and I realize it means core.
 
jlprk said:
I'd like to hear why you dislike him. Something deeper than the usual:

1) "Waah, he uses the word 'cup' for the basket."

I love his signature coinages. It's like reading descriptive writing vs. just-the-facts-ma'am journalism. But don't worry, in response to dullard Blazer fan criticism that he's too bright, he has greatly toned down his literary lexicals. And he talks more slowly.

2) "He describes every play in detail. This is TV, not radio. I don't like to listen intently. It hurts to concentrate. So I flunked 5 grades."

That's the best thing about him. Radio commentary is by necessity superior to TV.

3) "He's from Seattle. I hate everything from Seattle and have never been outside of Oregon."

I first heard him after Bob Whitsitt hired him from the Kansas City Kings. Before that...I'll let Wikipedia say it:

Calabro is a 1974 graduate of Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. He called high school basketball games in Indiana on WBDG. He graduated from Butler University (1978) where he called Butler Bulldog basketball for four years. Calabro had stops in the Central Hockey League, where he broadcast games for the Indianapolis Checkers, as well as at Purdue University and University of Missouri where he called basketball games. He began his professional career as the play-by-play announcer for the Kansas City Kings in the 1983–84 season.

In the 1987–88 season, Calabro came on board with the SuperSonics alongside the SuperSonics original play-by-play announcer Bob Blackburn....Calabro stated he would not continue with the team should they relocate to Oklahoma City, which they ultimately did.[6]
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I hate his voice. He reminds me of an auctioneer. Especially when he talked super fast earlier in his career.

He has called us the Supersonics multiple times. He isn't ours. He would choose the Supersonics anyday over the Blazers and Seattle can go fuck itself.

I'm sure he is a nice enough guy, just not a guy I want as our announcer. I stopped watching games that were our broadcasts after Mike and Mike got canned. Watched them again when Jordan Kent was the announcer and preferred him over Calabro too.

I really like Hurd. I met him down at OSU when I was roommates with one of his teammates.
 
THE HCP said:
Not true FAMS. Really a genuine down to earth guy. Treats every member of the crew as buddies. Very personable. I was against the Mikes being let go and it took me some time, but as far as a person behind the scenes…..couldn’t be a cooler guy.
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Can you sweet talk Barrett to come back as soon as Calabro is gone?
 
Sonic fans never gave a shit where Bob Blackburn grew up. To the contrary, he was considered a Northwesterner because of his Oregon background, and no one thought about California. Wikipedia:

Blackburn grew up in the Los Angeles area. As a child, he was bedridden with tuberculosis.[1] While listening to college sports broadcasts, he dreamed of being behind the microphone. Blackburn's uncle had told him his strength was in his "loud voice," so a career in broadcasting seemed like a good idea.[2]

Blackburn managed to land a job at a radio station in Santa Ana, California in 1942, and worked his way up. He also attended college at Fresno State Normal School. Eventually, he landed a job with the Portland Beavers Pacific Coast League baseball team, and was part of the Beavers' broadcast duo with Rollie Truitt on station KWJJ for 18 years. During that time, Blackburn was also a play-by-play announcer for University of Oregon and Oregon State University (OSU) football games in Portland, over the Tidewater Oil Company's sports radio network. In 1953, he became the sports director of KEX, a station where he also had his own afternoon disc jockey show. In 1957 he moved to KPOJ also doing the afternoon shift. In 1958 he moved to KXL, and then back to KPOJ in 1959.

When OSU created its own sports radio network in the late 1950s, Blackburn became the radio voice of Oregon State football and basketball. He was employed by the network flagship station, KEX of Portland. In 2002, Blackburn was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame for his Special Contribution to Sports in Oregon.
When the SuperSonics joined the NBA in 1967–68, the team needed a play-by-play voice...
 
Chick Hearn grew up in Illinois and announced Bradley basketball. As for silly colorful phrases that Calabro haters so dislike, from Hearn's obituary:

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-aug-06-me-hearn6-story.html

[baseball phrases he didn't invent:] “Simple terms like bases loaded, circus catch, circuit clout, screwball and squeeze play all served to dramatize the grand old game of baseball that even became a national pastime, thanks to some chronicler of press row.”

...Hearn invented a lexicon that has become as much a part of the game of modern basketball as the three-point field goal--”Chickisms,” they were called. He concocted such phrases as “airball” for a shot that misses the rim, “slam dunk” for a shot that is thrust down into the basket, “yo-yoing up and down” to describe a player dribbling a basketball, and “dribble drive” for a player driving hard to the basket.

With Hearn behind the microphone, the Lakers didn’t just pull away from a beaten opponent, they “put the game in the refrigerator.” A defender badly fooled by a player with the ball was “faked into the popcorn machine.” When a player mishandled the ball while trying a needlessly flashy move, Hearn determined that “the mustard’s off the hot dog.”...“No harm, no foul,” he said...Later came the phrase “The door is closed, the light is out, the eggs are cooling, and the butter is getting hard.”

Summary: Who cares where the guy's from. And more power to Calabro for coining his own signature phrases and terms.
 
jlprk said:
Summary: Who cares where the guy's from. And more power to Calabro for coining his own signature phrases and terms.
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Kevin, is that you?

Nobody cares if the guy lives in Seattle. He is known as the voice of the Supersonics. He will never be known as the voice of the Blazers.

Kevin has called us the Supersonics multiple times. It's annoying.

Nobody cared that Nate was Mr. Sonic.

But, fuck Seattle.
 
THE HCP said:
Not true FAMS. Really a genuine down to earth guy. Treats every member of the crew as buddies. Very personable. I was against the Mikes being let go and it took me some time, but as far as a person behind the scenes…..couldn’t be a cooler guy.
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Yeah, I don't necessarily think he's a bad person. I just don't enjoy his commentary.
 
blazerkor said:
Yeah, Joe obviously wanted to say the stuff he said. I didn't mind any of it. Calabro definitely isn't Roy Firestone and Joe didn't want him to be. I think loving this interview is a little weird but I think hating it is a lot weirder.

Edit: Also a "lively hood" is like a block party but someone's living is a their livelihood... not that you or anyone else gives a shit.
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I don't hate it, I just have no interest in it. And I have no interest in hearing what Calabro has to say during a blazer game. I'd much prefer even ESPN or to hear what other team's commentators have to say.

Just comes off as going through the motions and disconnected.
 
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JFizzleRaider said:
I hate his voice. He reminds me of an auctioneer. Especially when he talked super fast earlier in his career.

He has called us the Supersonics multiple times. He isn't ours. He would choose the Supersonics anyday over the Blazers and Seattle can go fuck itself.

I'm sure he is a nice enough guy, just not a guy I want as our announcer. I stopped watching games that were our broadcasts after Mike and Mike got canned. Watched them again when Jordan Kent was the announcer and preferred him over Calabro too.

I really like Hurd. I met him down at OSU when I was roommates with one of his teammates.
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Agree on all accounts.
 
Well looks like you guys got what you wished for Calabro will not be with us on this road trip FAMS!
 
THE HCP said:
Well looks like you guys got what you wished for Calabro will not be with us on this road trip FAMS!
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I think what you're trying to announce is...They wouldn't let you do the game threads, but they'll let you do the play-by-play?
 
There’s nothing wrong with Calabro. He’s a good announcer. I loved Mike Rice. I thought Barrett was a blowhard.

But I had bad interactions with Barrett when I was a peon security guard at the Rose Garden years ago. Don’t be a dick to the “little people” behind the scenes.
 
jlprk said:
I think what you're trying to announce is...They wouldn't let you do the game threads, but they'll let you do the play-by-play?
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No way I could do Play x Play….. I’d be a fantastic color commentator. Did it in college a few times. And recently jumped on the headsets at the Oregon HS Boys baseball North vs South game in Corvallis….( My daughter’s boyfriend’s dad was in charge of it and had come visit. Also did the Grant vs Franklin men’s HS football game for whatever that local sports radio network is that covers those games. That was a blast.
 
JFizzleRaider said:
@THE HCP Road trippin' John, what say you about zags experience with Barrett above?
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Never once saw MB treat somebody poorly. Sucks that happened to Zags. But it does happen…… all you hear about is how amazingly nice Nurk and Terry Porter are.
I had an experience with both and completely soured me on them!
MB is a great guy. Kinda guy you’d love to sit down and just BS with over a beer.
 
jlprk said:
Sonic fans never gave a shit where Bob Blackburn grew up. To the contrary, he was considered a Northwesterner because of his Oregon background, and no one thought about California. Wikipedia:

Blackburn grew up in the Los Angeles area. As a child, he was bedridden with tuberculosis.[1] While listening to college sports broadcasts, he dreamed of being behind the microphone. Blackburn's uncle had told him his strength was in his "loud voice," so a career in broadcasting seemed like a good idea.[2]

Blackburn managed to land a job at a radio station in Santa Ana, California in 1942, and worked his way up. He also attended college at Fresno State Normal School. Eventually, he landed a job with the Portland Beavers Pacific Coast League baseball team, and was part of the Beavers' broadcast duo with Rollie Truitt on station KWJJ for 18 years. During that time, Blackburn was also a play-by-play announcer for University of Oregon and Oregon State University (OSU) football games in Portland, over the Tidewater Oil Company's sports radio network. In 1953, he became the sports director of KEX, a station where he also had his own afternoon disc jockey show. In 1957 he moved to KPOJ also doing the afternoon shift. In 1958 he moved to KXL, and then back to KPOJ in 1959.

When OSU created its own sports radio network in the late 1950s, Blackburn became the radio voice of Oregon State football and basketball. He was employed by the network flagship station, KEX of Portland. In 2002, Blackburn was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame for his Special Contribution to Sports in Oregon.
When the SuperSonics joined the NBA in 1967–68, the team needed a play-by-play voice...
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The only thing that really stuck with me in this post is that the Beavers games were on KWJJ?

A country station?
 
THE HCP said:
Never once saw MB treat somebody poorly. Sucks that happened to Zags. But it does happen…… all you hear about is how amazingly nice Nurk and Terry Porter are.
I had an experience with both and completely soured me on them!
MB is a great guy. Kinda guy you’d love to sit down and just BS with over a beer.
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Thanks for the knowledge. MB always seemed like a guy you could have a beer with. Work your magic and get him back when Calabro is gone! My favorite years of following the team were listening to Mike and Mike and Wheels on the radio when needed.
 
MickZagger said:
The only thing that really stuck with me in this post is that the Beavers games were on KWJJ? A country station?
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A lot of Sonic radio stations played country music, even in cities.

As for what should stick, my message was: The Sonics radio/TV play-by-play guy Bob Blackburn (he had no colorman for 20 years till Whitsitt forced on him an Indiana guy doing Kings play-by-play, Kevin Calabro, preparing to fire the much-loved Blackburn) spent a generation in California, then a generation broadcasting Oregon teams. Nobody in Washington cared. Nobody disliked him for coming from out of state. If you liked the team, you liked him. I imagine that most NBA broadcasters didn't grow up in their team states. To those who dislike him for that, grow up!
 
jlprk said:
A lot of Sonic radio stations played country music, even in cities.

As for what should stick, my message was: The Sonics radio/TV play-by-play guy Bob Blackburn (he had no colorman for 20 years till Whitsitt forced on him an Indiana guy doing Kings play-by-play, Kevin Calabro, preparing to fire the much-loved Blackburn) spent a generation in California, then a generation broadcasting Oregon teams. Nobody in Washington cared. Nobody disliked him for coming from out of state. If you liked the team, you liked him. I imagine that most NBA broadcasters didn't grow up in their team states. To those who dislike him for that, grow up!
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Barrett was born in Idaho. Nobody hated him for that.

Calabro grew up in Indiana. Nobody cares about that.

If someone calls our team the Supersonics in a live broadcast, I care about that. And his voice sucks.
 
I haven't heard him say that, but no one has disagreed with you, so I believe you. It must have been easy to miss. I think he has the best voice of all NBA broadcasters, which is why the national games used him when he was between teams. Note that Mike & Mike weren't called up nationally. We are lucky to have NBA royalty.
 
jlprk said:
A lot of Sonic radio stations played country music, even in cities.

As for what should stick, my message was: The Sonics radio/TV play-by-play guy Bob Blackburn (he had no colorman for 20 years till Whitsitt forced on him an Indiana guy doing Kings play-by-play, Kevin Calabro, preparing to fire the much-loved Blackburn) spent a generation in California, then a generation broadcasting Oregon teams. Nobody in Washington cared. Nobody disliked him for coming from out of state. If you liked the team, you liked him. I imagine that most NBA broadcasters didn't grow up in their team states. To those who dislike him for that, grow up!
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Where he comes from has no bearing on how much or little I enjoy his commentary.
 
Phatguysrule said:
Where he comes from has no bearing on how much or little I enjoy his commentary.
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Yeah I don't know why anyone has brought that up. I could care less if someone was born in Portland vs anywhere else in the world.

Maybe last century I cared a tiny bit - but Damon Stoudamire being my least favorite Blazers of all time, as well as seeing his cousin being a dick in PDX high school probably changed that.
 
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